What Do Health Care Administrators and Medical and Health Services Managers Do?
While healthcare administrators and healthcare managers share similar responsibilities, they do perform different tasks. Healthcare administrators oversee the staff of a medical facility. They may supervise and manage one department or the whole facility depending on the need and availability of administrators. Responsible for staffing and financial aspects of the medical facility in which they work, healthcare administrators help a facility run smoothly with constantly changing healthcare regulations and cutbacks.
Healthcare managers take on a broader role within a medical facility. Often acting in a similar capacity to a corporation’s HR representative, healthcare managers deal with daily operations such as budgeting, patient care, organizational issues and general business concerns. They may work directly with a hospital board to find ways of better managing the hospital’s structure or provide a plan of action in times of crisis. In smaller facilities, they could take on a larger role to fulfill HR requirements.
The bottom line is that there is a difference between the two career paths: Healthcare administrators focus on managing staff needs, and healthcare managers focus on the broader business aspects of a medical facility. Examples of medical and health services managers include health information managers, assistant administrators, clinical managers, and nursing home administrators.
For more information on medical and health services managers click here.
Where Do Health Care Administrators and Medical and Health Service’s Manager’s Work?
About one third of medical and health services managers work in state, local, and private hospitals. Others work in nursing and residential care facilities, offices of physicians, and government and home healthcare services. Most medical and health services managers work in offices located at hospitals, nursing homes, and group medical practices.
Health care administrators work in a variety of health care settings, including hospitals, clinics, offices of physicians and group medical practices, nursing homes, and home health care agencies. Some work also may work outside of health care in government or community-based organizations.
What Do Health Care Administrators and Medical and Health Service’s Manager’s Earn?
In 2022, the average annual income reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for medical and health service managers in the United States was $127,980. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) reports that, in 2023, medical and health service managers in New York earned a median annual salary of $140,752 (medical and health service managers in the 25th percentile made approximately $93,508 while those in the 75th percentile made approximately $215,783).
Supply and Demand
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of jobs for medical and health service managers in the U.S. will increase by 28% between 2021 and 2031. The New York State Department of Labor projects that the number of jobs for medical and health service managers in the state will increase by 42% between 2020 and 2030.
The health care industry continues to expand and diversify, requiring managers and administrators to help ensure smooth business operations and improve quality and efficiency of health care, while controlling costs. Additional demand for medical and health services managers will stem from the need to recruit workers and increase employee retention; comply with changing health care policies and regulations; implement new technologies, such as computerization of patient records; and help improve health services for patients and medical staff by emphasizing preventive care.
For more information on the need for health care administrators and health services managers by New York State labor regions, 2018-2028, click here.
Educational Requirements
Most medical and health services managers have at least a bachelor’s degree, however master’s degrees are becoming more preferred by employers. Some graduate programs offer an additional year of supervised administrative experience in a hospital or healthcare setting.
Common degrees for medical and health services managers include health administration, health management, nursing, public health administration, or business administration. Important qualities required of medical and health services managers include analytical and communication skills, detail oriented, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and technical skills.
Medical and health services managers advance by moving into higher paying positions with more responsibility. Some health information managers can become responsible for the entire hospital’s information systems, while others may advance to top executive positions within the organization.
Most health care administrators have at least a bachelor’s degree before entering the field, and many have a master’s degree in health services administration, long-term care administration, health sciences, public health, public administration, or business administration. A bachelor’s degree is adequate for some entry-level positions in smaller facilities, at the departmental level within health care organizations, and in health information management. Coursework in health administration programs will include topics such as hospital organization and management, marketing, accounting and budgeting, human resources administration, strategic planning, law and ethics, biostatistics or epidemiology, health economics, and health information systems.
New York Licensure Requirements
New York does not require licensure for most health care administrators except for nursing home administrators, who must work closely with state regulatory agencies. For more information go to: https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/nursing_home_administrator/licensure_program/ .
Individuals wishing to demonstrate proficiency in the profession may receive certification through national organizations such as the American Association of Healthcare Administration Management: www.aaham.org/Certification/tabid/56/Default.aspx.
Some medical and health services managers choose to become certified through one of the many areas of practice certification is available, such as The Professional Association of Health Care Office Management, the American Health Information Management Association, and the American College of Health Care Administrators.
Financial Support
The Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) provides student financial support, scholarships, fellowships, and postgraduate learning opportunities, and promotes diversity in the classroom and the field. For more information, please visit the AUPHA Web site: http://www.aupha.org/resourcecenter/currentstudents.
Additional financial assistance through scholarships can be found here.
Education Programs in New York (subject to change)
| Syracuse University Maxwell School 219 Maxwell Hall Syracuse, NY 13244 (315) 443 3759 |
Adelphi University 1 South Ave. Garden City, NY 11530 (800) 233-5744 |
| DeVry University Manhattan Campus 180 Madison Ave Ste 900 New York, NY 10016 (212) 312-4300Rego Park (Queens) Campus 99-21 Queens Blvd Rego Park, NY 11374 (718) 575-7100 |
Mercy College Bronx Campus 1200 Waters Place Bronx, NY 10461 (877) MERCY-GODobbs Ferry Campus 555 Broadway NY 10522 (914) 674-7600 |
| New York City College of Technology 300 Jay St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 260-5000 |
Roberts Wesleyan College 2301 Westside Dr. Rochester, NY 14624 1 (800) 777-4792 |
| Baruch College Zicklin School of Business 55 Lexington Ave at 24th St New York, NY 10010 (646) 312-1000 |
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health 722 West 168th St, Ste 1014 New York, NY 10032 (212) 342-5127 |
| Cornell University 116 Reservoir Ave Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 254-6461 |
Hofstra University 126 Hofstra Dome Hempstead, NY 11549 (516) 463-6600 |
| New York University – Wagner 295 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012 (212) 998-7400 |
Clarkson University/ Union College Capital Region Campus 80 Nott Terrace Schenectady, NY 12308 (518) 631-9831 |
| University of Rochester Simon Business School 245 Gleason Hall Rochester, NY 14627 (585) 275-3439 |
SUNY Canton 34 Cornell Drive Canton, NY 13617 (315) 386-7011 |
| D’Youville University 320 Porter Avenue Buffalo, NY 14201 (716) 829-8000 |
Rochester Institute of Technology One Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623 (585) 475-2411 |
| College at Brockport, SUNY 350 New Campus Drive Brockport, NY 14420 (585) 395-2211 |
Utica College 1600 Burrstone Road Utica, NY 13502 (866) 295-3106 |
| Russell Sage College 140 New Scotland Ave. Albany, NY 12208 (518) 244-2000 |
Stony Brook University 101 Nicolls Rd Health Sciences Center, Stony Brook NY 11794 (631) 444-2252 |
| Clarkson University 8 Clarkson Ave. Potsdam, NY 13699 (315) 268-6400 |
Mt. St. Mary College 330 Powell Ave. Newburgh, NY 12550 (845) 561-0800 |
Additional Web Links
For more information on the field of health care administration, go to the American Association of Health Care Administrative Management website at: http://www.aaham.org/.
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